By: Steve Anderson
ARCADIA, Calif. – Trainers Jeff Bonde and Javier Sierra were fined $500 recently by Santa Anita track stewards for medication violations.
Bonde was cited after Tripski tested in excess of the permitted level of the corticosteroid Betamethasone after a third-place finish in the 10th race on March 26.
Sierra was fined after Gutsy Ruler, who finished second in the fourth race on March 6, tested positive for the prohibited medication Fulmethasone, also a corticosteroid.
Lezcano will sit out three days
Jockey Abel Lezcano has been suspended three days – from Thursday through Saturday – for causing interference aboard winner Nancy From Nairobi in the $203,105 Royal Heroine Stakes at Santa Anita on May 5.
Nancy From Nairobi won the one-mile turf race by a half-length but an incident in early stretch in which she drifted out and into the path of fifth-place Her Emmynency was the subject of a six-minute review by stewards. The order of finish was not changed, but Lezcano was cited for altering course without sufficient clearance.
In April and early May, Lezcano served eight days of suspensions for two riding infractions. The 26-year-old rider won his first graded stakes in the Royal Heroine. Through Saturday, Lezcano had nine wins from 104 mounts this year.
